A FEAST OF Friday night football could be on the menu for Stanley next season.

Manager John Coleman is aware that stepping up onto non-league football's biggest stage will be the toughest test yet of his seven-year managerial reign.

Key to that battle plan will be boosting Stanley's fan base in a footballing hotbed already saturated by the likes of Black-burn on one side and Burnley on the other.

But Coleman is also keen to exploit any chinks in the armour of battle-hardened Conference rivals.

And the canny Scouser reckons the answer to both conundrums could lie in adopting the tactics once employed by Wirral-based Tranmere Rovers, who played league games on Friday evenings due to their proximity to both Liverpool and Everton.

Coleman said: "Playing on Friday is something I want to explore because I don't see any negatives in the idea and in fact, I see it as a way forward.

"We already know people will come out and support us but I think Friday night football would certainly help to further boost the crowd.

"We are sandwiched directly between Blackburn and Burnley and it may be too much to hope for some of those floating fans to start supporting Accrington as a first team, rather than a second team.

"Playing at a different time would therefore eliminate anyone who may have divided loyalties."

Tranmere's policy of playing Friday night games was implemented with the sole aim of attracting "neutral'' Merseyside fans to Prenton Park, which lies just across the water from both Anfield and Goodison Park.

Coleman feels the proposal could also give Stanley a second vital advantage as they seek to earn their spurs among the cream of the non-league world.

He explained: "It could give us an edge because people don't really want to travel on a Friday night.

"We are now in a national league and it's not always feasible, or easy, for teams up and down the country.

"Maybe we would have to look at it on an experimental basis, but what better way is there to start the weekend than with a game of football?''

Coleman has already mooted the idea to Stanley owner Eric Whalley, who refuses to rule out the idea before chairing a meeting of minds with fellow board members.

Whalley added: "If you look at our Saturday games, we already get excellent support - whether Blackburn or Burnley are at home.

"However, during the week our gates are usually halved, so there are pros and cons to such an idea.

"But it is clearly something we need to look at and we will discuss the matter at a future board meeting to let people air their views."